it's only going to make it harder for our economy to grow and if our economy doesn't grow, americans don't get new jobs and the debt problem that we have will continue to threaten our children's future. as i said the day after the election, republicans are not seeking to impose our will on the president. we're seeking a biparty an solution that can pass both chambers of congress and be signed into law by the president in the coming days. during the campaign, the president pledged to the american people that he would seek a balanced approach to addressing the debt, a combination of new revenues and spending cuts. so the day after the election, i said the republican majority would accept new revenue as part of a balanced approach that includes real spending cuts and reform. now, the white house took three weeks to respond with any kind of a proposal and much to my disappointment, it wasn't a serious one. still, i'm willing to move forward in good faith. our original framework still stands. instead of raising tax rates, we can produce a similar amount of revenue reforming the tax code t